Spring latch



April 5, 1960 His. COULSON 2,931,675

SPRING LATCH Filed Dec. 29. 1954 5 26 27 x Jrg 4 r "4 z ,8, 24 INVENTOR 23 .OULSO 33 ATTORNEY United Statesv Patent The invention relates= -to =-a spring latch which is designed* to retain a' closure-member in operative relation to-an=opening forits-release solely by a transverse-push or pull on the member.

- A general object is to provide a spring latch of-the present type" having an assembly-which is dependable in action,--is-operative without any mutual bin'ding of its elements, and may not readily ge'toutoforde'r;

Another object is to provide a closure=latching assembly whi'ch engages a-closure in an'ant-i-rattling manner.

A furtherobjectis-to provide a spring latch assembly which 'is' readily -usable with various closures *such asdoors and gates and container lids, etcxfo'r releasably retaining the closures in either-open or closed positions.

An-added objectis to provide a present latchwith a releasable meansfor positively locking it-in its operating condition:

The inventionpossesses otherobjects and features ofadvantagesome of= which,withthe foregoing will be P 5 2,931,675 1 i atented Apr. 5; 1 1960 keeper'16 mounted on the wall W adjacentsaid opening" for cooperation with the detent unit 15. In general' terms, the detent element 17 of the unit 15 comprises a longitudinally. compressed and laterally arched unitary he'lieal'spring structure carried by a base plate 18 having'a flat intermediate portion 18' of trapezoidal outline fixedly mounted on the door at its inner face by screws 19. The mounted element 17 is yieldingly co-- operative with the wall-mounted catch plate 16 asthe closing movement of the door is completed, or the open ing movement of the door is begun, in such a mannerthat its 'action is-thatof a reciprocable spring detent with respect to the catch plate with the desirable added feai-- ture=that the fully closed 'door is resiliently 'held'engageda' with the door stopS to prevent a rattling of the closed door in-its place.

As is particularly brought out in Figures 1 and 4, the

detent assembly 17 comprises an open-coiled helical I spring havingend sections 21 and 22 of like effective lengthsconnected by mutually engaged axial end portions 23 and 24 of the sections to provide a shaft on.

which a cylindrical roller 25 is rotatively mounted, with.

said roller having a diameter somewhat exceeding that; of thespring section turns opposite its ends. As shown." in Fig-'ure l, the part 23 of the spring section 21 is:

straight except fora radially directed terminal portion: 7

23-,'and the end part 24 of the spring section 22' is.

' Wound around the straight portion of the part 23 in a:

tight helix to cooperatively provide with the part 23 as rigid shaft on which the roller 25 is rotatably mounted and retained'in centeredposition between'the connected:

set' forth or be apparent in the following description-or typical embodiments 'thereof,'andin the accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary'enlarged elevationshowing one embodiment of the latch as cooperative .between a door and a wall opening which receivesthe door, the view being taken from in back'of :thedoor;

Figure 2 ista sectional view taken at the line .22 in Figure 1.?

Figure 3 .is a sectional 'view taken at the line,.33 in Figure 1.,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken at the line in Figure 1.

Figure 5 illustrates, at a reduced scale, a typical installation of the present latch in association with a door in a doorway, the viewbeingtakemfrom in front of the closed door. t v

A" typical installation of'one embodiment of the spring latch of my invention is disclosed in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive in association with a door D hinged at one side edge for its swinging between its closed and open relations to a doorway opening 0 defined in a wall W having the thickness of the door; as particularly indicated,

hinges H connect the aforesaid side edge portion of the door to the wall W at the corresponding opening edge. At its inner side, the wall W mounts a stop molding S extending behind the opening sides and top for engaging the inner door side to limit the closing movement of the door in the opening. A C-shaped door pull handle P is mounted on the door at its outer side and adjacent the upright free door edge D' opposite the hinges, and near the point of installation of the door-carried element of the present latch assemblies; the handle P may be used spring sections 21 and 22 thereof are free, thespring" sections and roller are axially aligned in an assembly which'may be laterally bowed to the-functioning'formand degree desiredfo'r it.

It-will now be noted that flat and generally triangular ears-26*extend in corresponding perpendicularrelationfrom the flat-base part 18, and have the mutually outer ends of the spring-and-roller assembly 2125 22 compressedly engaged between them at their widerends which are nearest the longer base of the trapezoid of the plate part'18. The outer end turns 21 and 22' of thesprings 21 and 22 are flat for their flat-seating againstthe opposed faces of the ears 26; and integral tongue extensions -27 of the ears- 26-loped around the end spring turns 21' and '22' respectively secure themtotheears and base it being noted tliatdhe spring-engaged faces-of the ears-26 are-substantially radial-to the-ends of the are assumed by the bowed resilient detent assembly 212522,or 17, by reason of its mounting in compression between the ears. As is particularly brought out in Figure 1, the outer points of the spring turns of the detent assembly 17 define an are which extends beyond the longer base line of the trapezoid of the base plate portion 18', and 'the intermediately mounted roller 25 is larger than the spring turns and extends beyond said are for cooperative engagement with the catch plate 16 and also extends freely into a notch provided in the plate portion 18' opposite its zone of a movement. 1

The catch plate 16 comprises a strip of metal, or other suitable material which is flat except for a longitudinal cylindrically rolled edge portion 16' thereof, and is ar- 2,931,075 I p a H The rolled edge 16' of the plate element 16 extends opposite the inner face of the wall whereby the roller must be displaced toward the chord of the longitudinal arc of the detent 17 to permit its deflection around the extending rolled edge portion 16' of the catch plate 16, and the wall-mounted stop mold S is discontinued at the plate for a distance which permits the door-mounted detent assembly 15 to cooperatively engage the plate.

Noting that Figure 3 brings out the detent engagement of the roller 25 with the catch plate 16 when the door is in fully closed position, it will be understood that an opening pulling or pushing of the door with suflicient force is arranged to cause a progressively increasing inward deflection of the roller 25 for its passing over the rolled plate edge 16' and over the opposed plate face to free the door for its full opening. When the door is being closed, the roller 25 rolls over the rounded plate edge 16' with a maximum displacement thereof after having moved across the obliquely disposed flat plate portion with an increasing deflection of the detent assembly 17 including it to permit the disposal of the door in its fully closed position against the stop S while the roller is still deflected whereby to resiliently hold the door closed against the stop and so prevent its rattling.

It will now be noted that the present unit 15 is provided with a releasable stop means which is settable to prevent a latching or unlatching deflection of the arched detent assembly 17 to positively lock the door in its closed position or prevent a latching engagement of the detent with the catch plate, and that said means comprises a stop member carried by a key-controlled tumbler barrel 31 rotatively mounted in a tubular casing 32 fixed through the door D and providing for the controlling insertion of an appropriate key K longitudinally in the tumbler barrel from the outer end thereof. As particularly shown, the tumbler barrel 31 extends through the base plate portion 18' in swiveled relation thereto, and eccentrally mounts a cylindrical stop extension 33 which is normally disposed opposite the roller 25 in spaced relation thereto in the normal plane of displacement thereof for its turning with the key-freed tumbler barrel to dispose it against the operatively extended roller and then prevent an inner roller displacementby the catch plate 16 to release the latch when an opening of the closed door, or a closing of the open door, is urged. v

While the presentlatch structure is particularly shown as associated with a door which is arranged for its closing disposal within a doorway opening in a wall having the same thickness as the door, it will be understood that these latches are usable for securing closures at doorways provided in relatively thicker walls having their openings defined between jambs carrying stops having usual casings provided at one or'both of the opposite edges thereof. It will also be noted that the present latch structure is adapted for installation and use with doors which close against a wall face at a doorway opening in a wall. Furthermore, the detent unit is obviously adapted for use with catch plates which are disposed in position for cooperative engagement with the detent unit when the door carrying the latter is in an open position. In further reference to possible operative mountings of the disclosed latch assembly parts, it will also be understood that the detent and catch plate elements may, if desired, be respectively mounted in mutually cooperative relation to a wall and door in lieu of their illustrated mounting on a door and wall respectively.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the present spring latches will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains. While I have shown and described arrangements which I now consider to be preferred embodiments of my invention, I desire to have it understood that the showings are primarily illustrative, and that such changes and developments may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a spring latch adapted to releasably secure a swinging member to a fixed member in mutually latched relation, a latch plate for'mounting on one said member, a base plate for mounting on the other member and comprising a planar attaching portion having angularly related spaced and opposed ears extending integrally and transversely from it and providing opposed spring seats, a detent member comprising a helical spring having its ends arranged for their retained and rigid seating against said ears, means fixing said spring ends to said ears in seated engagement therewith and with said spring in longitudinally compressed and laterally bowed condition to have a portion of its arch extending laterally from the mounting member, and means on the detent member arranged for the direct cooperation thereof with the latch plate on the other member for a yielding operative deformation of the detent in its plane by and with respect to the operating latch plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 742,782 Foster .2.. Oct. 27, 1903 977,137 Sexton Nov. 29, 1910 1,408,637 Pratt Mar. 7, 1922 1,622,979 Shostrom Mar. 29, 1927 2,499,818 Dedricks Mar. 7, 1950 2,541,179 Sponsler Feb. 13, 1951 2,583,391 Quinn Jan. 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 700,967 Great Britain Dec. 16, 1953 

